In 2018. by way of thanks for being a part of this community, we'll be choosing 16 active members of our community at random to receive a special gift and a gift certificate for one of our affiliate vendors, to represent each of our 16 years.

These beauties just came in today. I am a hair over 12D Brannock and these fit very comfortably in 11D. My only concern is if the eyelets are too close when laced tight, as I know the CXL does stretch. Any thoughts?

If they feel comfortable and like they fit properly every else, then that's fine! Not a problem!

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Agreed @ wigglr. I have two pairs of Indy boots; (Snuff Suede and Ultimate Indy (CXL). My eyelets are even closer when laced up and almost touching at the top. That is due to my skinny ankles They fit properly, so no worries.

The Carmina longwing is awesome as well, and comes in a great shade (cognac, like mahogany, somewhere between ravello and color 8). But it's narrower and pointier than the Alden LWB and not as iconic. But close to the same price with slightly nicer finishing, and comes with free trees. A good substitute for ravello if you're not up for the wait.

For color 8, nothing tops the 975 though (with black edges of course).

Something a little bit different... Someone sent me a pair of vintage Alden 986s in Horween #8 Shell Cordovan and asked if I could try to make a card holder out of them. Here is the result. I documented my entire process from deconstruction, burnishing, hand stitching to edge finishing and added a bit of commentary as well. You can find that image album here. Incredibly fun project to do and I'm pleased with the results. Let me know your thoughts!

Greetings everyone,
I have purchased a pair of recently-recrafted Alden 990s. The shoes are in great condition for the fair price I paid, but I was wondering what to do about the damaged/split cuffs on both of the shoes (perhaps caused by the previous owner not using a shoehorn). What can--and should--a cobbler do (to at least prevent it from getting worse)?